WALKING FOR WELLNESS: Staff and friends of the Tioga County YMCA in Mansfield enjoy a spring stroll for physical and emotional benefits. They are, from left, Tasha Pratt, wellness director and personal trainer; Heather Stocum, membership director; Sarah King; and Melissa Sentiff, executive director.
 

The belief that each journey begins with a single step is well accepted by most people.

But the path to a healthy life requires many more, according to Tasha Pratt, wellness director and personal trainer at the Tioga County YMCA in Mansfield, which is also home to Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperative (REC).

“The benefits of walking include a reduced risk for heart disease, stroke and diabetes,” Pratt explains. “If a person with pre-diabetes or diabetes is eating right, walking will help them lose weight. It helps with balance, especially for older people with bad joints. It helps women at risk for osteoporosis, and also aids in digestion.”

Walking also has emotional benefits. “Even 10 or 15 minutes of walking here and there throughout the day,” she says, “can have significant health benefits for someone.”

While walking helps people of all ages — June 14 is Family Health and Fitness Day — Pratt says it becomes more important as people “age into the senior category,” a stage where they often become more sedentary after retiring. The beauty of walking is that it can be done at no cost and on any schedule. 

Although you can walk on a treadmill, Pratt recommends walking outside, which provides the additional benefits of sunshine and nature, which are good for humans, too.

“Everyone should walk,” she says. “It’s beneficial from the time you take your first step through the end of life.”

'Healthy in mind, body and spirit'

Melissa Underwood, executive director of the Mansfield Chamber of Commerce, believes so much in the power of walking that she helped to organize an informal group that brings like-minded friends and neighbors together. The group is an outgrowth of the chamber’s Partners in Progress program. The first community walking event was held Jan. 1.

“A lot of us are focusing on getting people in the community to be healthy in mind, body and spirit,” she says, “so we encourage people to meet at the downtown Mansfield Hike and Bike Trail at 3:30 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday.”

It’s a casual gathering and participants are invited to “come as they wish and walk as long as they wish,” Underwood explains. Some participants walk a specific number of miles, while others walk for a specific length of time. Some also jog on the mile-long, paved path. All, however, are welcome, including “strollers,” who just want to connect with other people while getting a bit of exercise.

Underwood has always been a walker and hiker, but she especially enjoys this program because in addition to health benefits, there’s also a social aspect.

“It provides accountability and fellowship,” she says. “You are talking to someone and wandering at the same time, and so you find you walk even longer because you are having a conversation.”

While the Tuesday-Thursday walking group is a year-round casual event, Mill Cove Environmental Area and Education Center, also in Tioga County, recently hosted a formal 5K walk/run as part of its annual Earth Day celebration.

Sam Vanloon, Tioga County commissioner and president of the center’s board, said this was the first year for the walk/run, but the organization hopes to make it an ongoing part of its Earth Day activities. While the walk/run was timed, many participants just walked for fun and exercise. Medals were presented to everyone who completed the course. 
 

Something for everyone

If your community doesn’t offer similar walking programs, you can still take part in an organized effort through the free “Everybody Walk Across Pennsylvania” program, an eight-week initiative sponsored twice a year by Penn State Extension.

Laurie Welch, an extension educator for Lycoming and Clinton counties — portions of which are served by Sullivan County REC, Tri-County REC and Claverack REC — coordinates the virtual exercise program.
“People do not get enough physical activity,” Welch notes. “We wanted a fun event that all Pennsylvanians could participate in.”

In addition to being an exercise program, Everybody Walk Across Pennsylvania is an educational effort that focuses on different health resources offered by Penn State Extension. Each week, participants receive an email with nutrition information and health tips.

Operating for more than 10 years, the program has many repeat participants. Also, a chart is available that converts other types of exercise into walking so that people who swim, for example, can calculate how many miles they would have “walked” to get the same benefit. Participants are encouraged to average 10 miles of walking or exercise per week.

Walkers can go it alone; however, many sign up in teams of three or five. Each team logs its miles, and members can compare their progress to other teams, setting up some friendly competition. Welch says a number of businesses have multiple teams, based on departments, that compete head-to-head.

“Most people are more likely to exercise if they are accountable to others on a team,” Welch says.

The virtual program is offered once in the spring and once in the fall, and each session focuses on a different theme. One year the theme was state parks, and Route 66 was highlighted another year. The spring program is currently underway, but registration for the fall session begins this month with a start date in September. Interested participants are encouraged to sign up at extension.psu.edu/everybody-walk-across-pa.

Over the last three years, Welch reports the program had 3,555 registered participants from throughout the United States. Of those, 65% have been part of the program for one to three years. In addition, 97% report increased physical activity; 88% consistently accessed health and wellness articles; 77% explored recipes provided by Penn State Extension; and 49% were motivated to adopt healthier eating habits.

Welch says the program’s statistics speak for themselves: “It’s a fun, educational way to get people more active and involved.”